Tuesday, January 8, 2008

What to eat when you've been "crowned"

I got crowned today. No not the kind of crowned that makes you queen of everything or even princess of your own world. No the crowning I got involved needles, drilling and pain. I had a tooth crowned. Calling it a crown is misleading, I feel. Getting crowned is a royal occasion, involving pomp and circumstance, not loud whining drills and six or seven shots to numb your gums. No matter a crown it is, and lucky for me, my dentist is from the old school that still uses the happy gas to take the edge off. My appointment was for first thing in the morning. I was on my way home by 10:00 with a partially numb mouth and a slight happy gas hangover. Dr. H advised me to take a couple of Advil when I got home and to only chew on the left side of my mouth. So after popping a couple Advil, I realized I was HUNGRY! What do you eat with a sore mouth and limited chewing abilities? Well it's definitely an excuse for a milkshake, but I needed some real food. Soup's the only other real option. I scoured the cupboards for anything resembling soup. Of course there was nothing but chicken broth. I was hungry and wanted something to comfort me after my traumatizing morning. I wanted the ultimate comfort meal from my childhood, tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. Mom always made a milk based tomato soup that I still love. I love a wonderful tomato basil soup as well, but when it comes to comfort foods a milk based tomato soup is hard to beat. I found this recipe on the Epicurious website. It's based on Fannie Farmer's recipe and is similar to what my mom makes. It was the perfect comfort food especially when paired with a white cheddar melted cheese sandwich!

PreparationMelt butter in a soup pot. Add the onion and cook over medium heat, stirring until the onion is softened but not browned. Sprinkle the flour over the butter mixture and continue to stir and cook 1-2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, bay leaf, sugar and salt continue to cook until slightly thickened. Stir the baking soda into the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes to the milk, and bring just to a simmer. remove from heat and strain if you want a very smooth soup. Adjust seasonings.

*I used one 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes, because that's what I had on hand. It was perfect for someone that didn't want to chew!I thought this would be the perfect entry for the comfort food cook-off hosted by Eve at The garden of eating. The winner will receive a copy of Macaroni & Cheese: 52 Recipes from Simple to Sublime by Joan Schwartz. This soup and sandwich combo is comforting on a cold day even when you haven't just come from the dentist.

me too i need to see my dentist for a crown job but my busy sched permits me from doing so..i agree with you that nothing matches a home-made hot soup on moments like this..hope your tooth is feeling better now :-) smile

Thanks nora b. I would have just opened a can but I had nothing and didn't want to get back in the car:)thanks hilary!thanks dhanggit, I put it off as long as I could. glad it's done!:)Sure gigi, come on over!